Combination lock



pt 1949. J. L. FORMO ETAL 2,481,099

COMBINATION LOCK Filed Nov. 22, 1947 .3 fad/ AZiarzzeys Patented Sept. 6, 1949 COMBINATIGN LQCK' l mme L- Form H w rdArrefl Johns n, and Richard E. Jacobson, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application November 22, 1947, Serial No,. 78:7,.602

4 Claims.

Th s n t on rela e o.- a oc espo s fo op nin o the ins rtionof a key or h dialing of the proper predetermined combination.

It is an object of our invention to provide a novel and highly efiieient key opening combination lock, particularly adaptedfor use in cylinder tumbler leeks.

More specifically it is an object to provide a lock having a longitudinally displaceable cylinder with locking tumblers mounted therein and adapted to be displaceable only when the proper combination has been dialed whereby said lock may be opened, said tumblers being responsive to the insertion of a key to, release said cylinder and permit the lock to be opened.

These and other obiects and advantages of our invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer to. similar parts throughout the several views and which:

Fig. 1 is an enlarged longitudinal vertical sectional view showingone side of the lock and casing therefor;

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken substantially alon the line ZW-Z. of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional. view taken substantially along the line 3-.- 3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a front elevational view of the lock showing the dial;

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of a typical combination disc; and,

Figs. 6 and 7 are longitudinal vertical sectional views of the two casing; sections.

As h wn n he acco p ny ng d awin s. particularly Figs. 6 and 7; we provide: a lock casing, 10 longitudinally spliti-nto two sections 10a and H119. Each section being recessed to form a cylinder receiving chamber H therein when saidsections are in assembled position, One of the sections We has a. plurality of spaced, grooved tumbler trackw-ays t2 transversely formed in an intermediate portion thereof leaving tumbler obstructing flanges t3 therebetween. The extremities. of said obstructionpflanges 1.3 are cut back to respectively iorm one half of a pair of longitudinally disposed tumbler receiving: slots M, The, other half of said-slots id; is tcr-medby cuttingback correspond.- ing portions; of the casin section lllb. These opposed tumbler receiving recessesare best shown in Fig 3. A plurality, of transversely disposed longitudinally spaced disc; receiving grooves such as he r e gr ov s; t5aretermed in the innerperipheral surfaceot the chamber -:I I in the outer portionsv of easing; sections 50a and lob, the ro ves. in. onesecti nbeine adapted t be ali ned with the groovesintheother section when said wos c ons a e n assem lednos tion. An- 19 gated tumbler carryin cylinder I6 is adapted to be r tat ly m unted in sa d. chamber I l in lon iud nallv displac able relati n th ein. As st shown in Fig. 3,. a plurality of transversely disposed tumblers ].1 are slidably. mounted in longitudinally spaced relation through an intermediate portion of saidcylinder l6. Each tumbler H has an individual spring; L8 to. resiliently urge aid umb r utward y. i to. rojected position. The tumblers I! have longitudinallyaligned key receivin slits, l9.. .and the cylinder l6, hasv a longitudinally disposedv keyrecetving passage 6a, therethrou and said tumbler slits 1.9 are substantially aligned have their side extremities substantial y ali ned wi h said P ssa e The lower ends. of the tumbler slits. l9 are urged 11-pw rdly from, the lowe p rtiorroi passage l a by the spring- L8, and the, slits Iain their respective tumblers. 1.1. are r arious'lena hs so that. onl a key having a certain predetermined contour will retract said tumblers H from the slot l4 when inserted into the keyreceiving passage [6a and through therespective slitsla. We refer to upper and lower po ns of he um ler a shown in ies. l 3 merely for convenience and i is unders ood thath se reterences tau-D1 and lower miaht wellfb ntercha ged dep d upon theposit qn of, the lock. The iflimblersv III and portion of the, cylinder IB. adjacent. thereto are of sub tan iallyconvemtional esign and cooperate, with thecemhination-pqrtionof the lock as Will, hereinaiter .bedescribed.

cq binationdportion of the lock consists in a plurality r combination discs such as e hree discs.- mwhi h are iournaled on the ou er portion of the cylinder Idandare adapted to be rotatably receiving: in the respectiv disc receiving g-lQQves L5; best. shown in Fig. 2, the yl nder l6 hasaplurality oi dis top uch as the three stops 2]. In Fig. 1 these stops 2|v are all shown in al ned onei u ina v pa ed relation and would -operate peri'ectly in this p si on-k HQwev r,,-in- 2rd r a make it mor difficu t t perate, h c mbination with a p 1i v of difi rent s epp n m s f r the everal discs, the,s e .sto1 s.2 |r are. peripherallvspaced about the circumfierence, oi, cylinder; l6, as well as bein lon itudinally spaced hereon A, d sc r0 tating and-control sleevell. is iour ale n the outer perti ent-cy nde ifi-.- nd has. its inn r x.- tremity fixed to the outermostdisczt. An nner peripheral recess 23 is formed around the inside periphery of sleeve 22 and is adapted to receive the outermost stop 2| therein. This peripheral recess 23 is disposed adjacent the outermost disc 26 as best shown in Fig. 1 and its width is substantially equal to the spacing between the discs 20. Each of the discs has a stop receiving notch 24 formed in the inner peripheral edge thereof and the notches 24 of the respective discs 20 are adapted to receive the respective stops. The center disc 20 has a longitudinally disposed detent fixed to each face thereof. The innermost disc 2|] has an outwardly disposed detent 25 which is adapted to be engaged by the inwardly facing detent 25 of the center disc 20. The outermost disc 20 has an inwardly disposed detent 25 which is adapted to engage the outwardly extending detent 25 of the center disc 20. A latch actuating bar 26 is mounted at the inner extremity of casing H and an inwardly extending annular flange 21 retains the outer end of said bar 26 in rotatably mounted position at the inner end of said casin I0. A recess is provided in the outer portion of bar 26 and a resilient spring 23 is placed in this recess and interposed between said bar 26 and the inner end of cylinder 5 to resiliently hold said cylinder in outwardly disposed position. A second recess 29 is formed in the outer portion of bar 26 in laterally off-set position from the longitudinal center line thereof and a projection 30 on the inner end of cylinder I6 is adapted to be slidably received in said recess 29 to rotate said bar 26 when said cylinder i6 is rotated in casing l0.

Means are provided for maintaining said casing sections Illa and "lb in proper predetermined opposed position such as the four pins 3| in section ||lb adapted to be respectively received in four apertures 32 in section |0a when the two sections are in assembled position. A retaining sleeve 33 is pressed over the two'sections Illa and lb to securely hold the same in assembled position with the bar 26 retained at the inner portion thereof.

Operation The following is a description of the operation of our lock. The lock is mounted in position substantially as shown in Fig. 1 and an outer annular flange 34 is provided to butt against a flat surface such as the door of an automobile. In normal position, the tumblers I! are resiliently projected upwardly into the slots I4 and are in alignment with the respective tumbler stop flanges l3 to prevent rotation of said cylinder. The notches 24 of the discs 20 are not aligned with their respective stops 2| and thus the discs 20 prevent the cylinder 6 from being inwardly displaced.

By inserting a key having the proper contour in the key receiving passage |6a, the tumblers H are retracted against the resilient force of their respective springs l8 and the cylinder l6 turned in the normal manner to turn bar 26 and open the lock.

However, if the key is lost, our lock may be opened by rotating the discs 20 so that their respective notches 24 are respectively aligned with the stops 2| to permit said cylinder Hi to be displaced inwardly against the resilient force of spring 28 and thereby align said tumblers I! with their respective grooved trackways l2. A numbered dial 35 is mounted on the outer surface of sleeve 22 in the conventional manner and as the sleeve 22 is rotated the disc detents 25 turn the respective discs and by turning the proper predetermined combination of numbers, the notches 24 are respectively aligned with their respective stops 2|.

It will be seen that we have provided an extremely simple, highly efiicient combined combination and key opening tumbler look. It should be noted that adequate means are provided on the outer extremity of cylinder 6 such as the knurled portion 36 which will provide an adequate frictional surface by which the cylinder l6 and bar 26 may be turned after said cylinder I6 is displaced inwardly. Our lock is extremely convenient in the event that several people are using a car and a limited number of keys are available therefor, as well as in the case of a car owner, losing his keys. This lock is adapted for a wide variety of uses such as house doors as well as automobile doors and the like.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts without departing from the scope of our invention.

What we claim is:

1. A look adapted to be opened by either key or combination, said lock comprising a lock casing having a cylinder receiving chamber formed therein and having a plurality of transverse grooved tumbler trackways spaced longitudinally of the casing chamber and formed around the inner periphery thereof, a plurality of rotation arresting elements longitudinally separating said trackways, there being circumferentially spaced longitudinally disposed tumbler receiving slots formed within said chamber and extending across said rotation arresting elements, and said casing also having a plurality of disc receiving grooves spaced longitudinally of said casing and formed around the inner periphery thereof in longitudinally spaced relation from said tumbler trackways, a tumbler carrying cylinder rotatably inserted into said chamber in longitudinally displaceable relation thereto and having a longitudinally disposed key receiving passage therein, a plurality of normally projected tumblers retractably mounted in an intermediate portion of said cylinder, a plurality of combination discs journaled on said cylinder and respectively received by said disc receiving grooves, means for normally urging said cylinder outwardly, means at the outer portion of said cylinder for selec tively turning said discs, stop means for normally preventing said cylinder from sliding longitudinally relative said discs, and means for bypassing said stop means when said discs are turned to a selected predetermined position, whereby said cylinder may be pressed inwardly to respectively align said tumblers with said trackways and permit said cylinder to be rotated in said casing to open said lock.

2. A look adapted to be opened by either key or combination, said lock comprising a lock casing having a cylinder receiving chamber formed therein and having a plurality of transverse grooved tumbler trackways spaced longitudinally of the casing and formed around the inner periphery thereof, a plurality of tumbler obstructing flanges separating said trackways, there being circumferentially spaced longitudinally disposed tumbler receiving slots formed within said chamber and extending across said flanges, said casing also having a plurality of disc receiving grooves spaced longitudinally of said casing and formed around the inner periphery thereof in longitudinally spaced relation from said tumbler trackways, a tumbler carrying cylinder rotatably inserted into said chamber in longitudinally displaceable relation thereto and having a longitudinally disposed key receiving passage therein, a pluralit of resiliently projected tumblers retractably mounted in an intermediate portion of said cylinder, each of said tumblers having a key receiving slit formed therein, the side portions of said slits being longitudinally aligned with said key receiving passage, said tumblers being responsive for retraction to the insertion through said aligned slits of a key having the proper contour, a plurality of combination discs journaled on said cylinder and respectively received by said disc receiving grooves, means at the outer portion of said cylinder for selectively turning said discs, means for normally urging said cylinder outwardly, a plurality of longitudinally spaced stops fixed in outstanding relation to the surface of said cylinder and disposed respectively outwardly from said discs to normally respectively engage thereagainst, said discs having elements formed therein for receiving said stops to by-pass said stops when aligned therewith to permit said cylinder to be pressed inwardly to respectively align said tumblers with said trackways whereby said cylinder may be rotated to open said lock.

3. A look adapted to be opened by either key or combination, said lock comprising a longitudinally split lock casing having a cylinder receiving chamber formed therein and having a plurality of transverse grooved tumbler trackways spaced longitudinally of the casing and formed around the inner periphery thereof, a plurality of tumbler obstructing flanges interposed between said trackways, there being circumferentially spaced longitudinally disposed tumbler receiving slots formed within said chamber and extending longitudinally through said flanges, said casing also having a plurality of disc receiving grooves spaced longitudinally thereof and formed around the inner periphery thereof in outwardly spaced relation from said tumbler trackways, a tumbler carrying cylinder rotatably mounted between the sections of said split casing in longitudinally displaceable relation thereto and having a longitudinally disposed key receiving passage therein, a plurality of longitudinally spaced resiliently projected tumblers retractably mounted in an intermediate portion of said cylinder, each of said tumblers having a key receiving slit formed therethrough, the side'portions of said slits being longitudinally aligned with said key receiving passage, said tumblers being responsive for retraction to the insertion through said aligned slits of a key having the proper contour, a plurality of combination annular discs journaled on said cylinder and respectively received by said disc receiving grooves, means at the outer portion of said cylinder for selectively turning said discs, indicia means for indicating the position of said discs, means for normally urging said cylinder outwardly, and a plurality of longitudinally spaced stops fixed in outstanding relation to the surface or said cylinder and disposed respectively adjacent the outward surface of said 5 discs to normally engage thereagainst, each of said annular discs having a stop receiving notch formed in the inner periphery thereof for respectively by-passing said stops when aligned therewith to permit said cylinder to be pressed inwardly to respectively align said tumblers with said trackways whereby said cylinder may be rotated to open said lock.

4. A lock adapted to be opened by either key or combination, said lock comprising a lock casing having a split cylinder receiving chamber formed therein and having a plurality of transverse grooved tumbler trackways spaced longitudinally of the casing and formed around the inner periphery thereof, tumbler obstructing flanges separating said trackways, there being circumferentially spaced longitudinally disposed tumbler receiving slots formed within said chamber and extending across said flanges, said casing also having a plurality of disc receiving grooves spaced longitudinally of said casing and formed around the inner periphery thereof in longitudinally spaced relation from said tumbler trackways, a tumbler carrying cylinder rotatably inserted into said chamber in longitudinally displaceable relation thereto and having a longitudinally disposed key receiving passage therein, a plurality of resiliently projected tumblers retractably mounted in an intermediate portion of said cylinder, means associated with said tumblers and adapted to cooperate with a key having the proper contour to retract said tumblers when said key is inserted in said key receiving passage, a rotatable bolt actuating element journaled in the rear of said casing and normally closing the same in normally inwardly spaced relation from the inner end of said cylinder, a resilient spring interposed between said bolt actuating element to normally urge said cylinder into outward position, a connection between said cylinder and said bolt actuating element for turning said elemgnt when said cylinder is turned, a plurality of annular combination discs journaled for rotation on said cylinder and respectively received by said disc receiving grooves, stop means mounted on said cylinder for normally preventing the inward displacement thereof, means at the outer portion of said cylinder for selectively turning said discs, and means on said discs for respectively by-passing said sto means to permit said cylinder to be pressed inwardly and respectively align said tumblers with said trackways whereby said cylinder and said bolt actuating element may be rotated to open said lock.

JEROME L. FORMO. HOWARD ARVED JOHNSON. RICHARD E. JACOBSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,748,255 Tibbetts Feb. 25, 1930 2,035,781 Bell Mar. 31, 1936 

